Dussehra, Dubbas, and Dharma

On the tenth night, Dusshera shines, endings fade, beginnings rise, light wins. 🪔
And yes, Happy National Pancake Day!

U.S.: Comey indicted on perjury and obstruction charges. Shutdown odds hit 76% as Sept 29 nears. Trump imposed 100% tariffs on European pharma, sparing India’s generics. Hegseth called a rare global summit at Quantico. Grok AI cleared for federal rollout. Labor Dept launched Project Firewall to crack down on H-1B misuse. TikTok secured extended U.S. operations under American investor control.

Global: At the U.N., a series of “triple” technical disruptions, escalator, teleprompter, audio, upended Trump’s speech. NATO warned Russia over repeated airspace incursions and satellite shadowing of allied assets, raising escalation fears. Moscow countered with charges that NATO is already at war. Meanwhile, Putin’s “World Atomic Week” drew over 100 nations and yielded nuclear deals, including one with Iran.

South Asia: India marked 11 years of “Make in India,” citing $667B in investment. The rupee slid past ₹88/USD amid capital outflows. India rose to 38th in the Global Innovation Index, while Foreign Minister Jaishankar criticized U.S. “double standards” on terrorism and energy. Trump’s proposed $100K H-1B fee raised concern among students and families.

The Scene: Capitol Hill got a dash of masala as the South Asian Impact Foundation staged its first “Hill Day,” putting diaspora voices straight into lawmakers’ ears. Hasan Minhaj, with jokes in one hand and Kolkata Chai Co., in the other, showed how comedy can double as venture capital. Nintendo marked Super Mario’s 40th with bundles and a movie tease, while South Park turned prediction markets into punchlines, sending Kalshi trending like a meme stock. Jimmy Kimmel’s surprise return pulled six million views in 24 hours. The U.S. Physics Team swept the International Olympiad with a perfect score. And Kai Trump debuted her new merch line on the White House lawn.

U.S. GDP was revised up to 3.8%, easing talk of immediate Fed cuts but reviving stagflation fears with inflation still sticky. Markets stayed cautious amid shutdown threats and tariff tensions, while corporate shifts showed the pressure points: finance tested quantum, chips sought lifelines, housing softened, healthcare turned politicized, minerals were recast as strategy and gaming faced its biggest shake-up yet as EA moved toward a blockbuster buyout.

Masala Chai: $COST ( ▼ 2.9% ) is stirring sneaker culture with its Kirkland x Nike SB Dunk Low, a warehouse-to-hype crossover brewed with big-box irony.

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Open the masala dubba in any Indian kitchen and you find more than spices. You find ratios, migrations, medicine, and memory. Grandmothers carried formulas like 2 coriander, 1 cumin. Ayurveda coded meals in six tastes. Bengal’s panch phoron insists on perfect equality. Today, data scientists call it “computational gastronomy.” But long before AI, the dubba was already an algorithm, balancing chemistry with story, trade with taste. Read the feature and tell us, which spice in your dubba would you choose as your opening chapter?

Dussehra holds up a mirror to dharma: truth, balance, righteousness. This week’s feature unpacks Ravana’s ten heads through yoga’s lens and festival tradition, asking what each can still teach us today. Read & discover

This week channels Navratri’s rhythm. Courage, release, purification, and fulfillment, culminating in Dussehra’s victory of light over shadow. Guidance: act with devotion, balance intensity with peace, and let each step be an offering. Full Horoscopes

Navratri energy meets unfiltered chai-time banter. Kajol and Twinkle Khanna co-host a new talk show that swaps scripts for spontaneity, pulling in a starry lineup (Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Govinda and more) for candid, funny, and surprisingly tender conversations. Premiered September 25 on Prime Video, with new episodes every Thursday; produced by Banijay Asia. It’s the perfect festive wind-down after Garba, sparkle, sass, and stories. Watch on Prime Video